I was trying to take some thinking time so I would be able to make the right decision, but all I kept thinking about was how good it felt that the itching had stopped. Usually I itch in at least a few places almost all of the time, and it’s really just a matter of how much. So in the end I felt so happy about the absolutely no itching situation I said that yes I would go and meet Adam.

I decided I didn’t really mind if I had to sit and listen to his entire life story like Mum had to, because me and Jax reckon that even the worst episode of EastEnders (which is what Mum said Adam’s life reminded her of) is still pretty good. And because so what if Adam didn’t want to know me and Mum, like Dan McStinky didn’t? Who cares? But mainly I decided that I should go and meet him because one never knows and because I reckon Jax would definitely have told me, don’t be a pussy, Normie.

Mum texted Adam and told him we’d meet him at a Costa that wasn’t too far from our hotel, because of neutral territory and safety in numbers. That last bit is what she said to me, not him, by the way. Plus she said we could use the excuse of having to get back to the hotel to pack if we wanted to ditch him, which seemed like a pretty smart idea, considering everything she’d said about him being a bit rude and such a Negative Neville and all that.

Mum told me that when I met Adam I wasn’t to take a bit of notice of anything he said because he was full of himself and he had no filter and she was really sorry she’d put me in the position of him possibly being my dad. She said that, in her defense, she didn’t actually remember him being quite that bad when she met him, but that was a story for another time and she was sorry about that, too.

It was probably due to not being itchy for the first time in forever but for some reason I didn’t even feel nervous about meeting Adam. While Mum was in the shower I even made up a funny rhyme, which used to mainly be Jax’s job, so I was quite surprised when it just popped into my head. When she got out of the bathroom I asked if she wanted to hear it and when I stood up and said, who cares about Adam’s bitching, because I ain’t itching, she laughed and laughed. Actually, she laughed so much she started to cry, but then just when I started to get a bit worried I saw that she was also still laughing.

After the laughing and crying Mum hugged me really, really tight, and even though it was pretty sore on the parts where my scabs had fallen off I hugged her back as hard as I could, too. And then when she went to let go I still kept holding on, which made her hug me back more, and it started all over again. It was like a never-ending hug, which is the best kind. And it didn’t matter that it hurt and that it took up a lot of time and that Mum was crying and that I hadn’t had my shower yet so I still stank a little bit like the wee of a thousand Egyptian camels. Because even though neither of us said anything I knew Mum was thinking about Jax at that very moment, too.